Group 12American GovernmentDr. Susan MacDona1dMWF 10:10-11:03Water RightsResearch Group:Eric Chen; Denise Doctor; Rachel Eddy; Juanita Herrera; Mike HouserWriting Group:Julianne Sims; Taischa Stevens; Stefanie StoutPresentation Group:Chas Bledsoe; Charles Davis; Seth Gentry; Mandi Heiser; LindseyMcCloskyGroup 12American GovernmentMWF 1010- 113Dr Susan MacDonaldWater RightsWho has the right to California's water? The farmers? The people? Nature?North or South? Water has become a very controversial issue in California As MarkTwain put it, "Whisky's for drinking, water's for fighting about." And we do California'shistory is filled with disputes over water, and the battle lines continue to be drawn In themidst of what looks to be a severe water shortage, the fight for water will continue to getmuch more intense The future does not look much better; a limited supply of water andan unlimited demand makes the battle over water rights a warQuick Facts on California's WaterMore than 100 million acre-feet of the rain and snow received soaks into the ground,evaporates, or is used by native vegetation. That leaves about 71 million acre-feet ofusable surface water Of that water*36% flows out to the ocean*28% is legally committed to wild and scenic rivers and San Francisco Bay- Deltaoutflow*28% is used by agriculture*7% is used by cities and industry* An acre-foot of water is about 326,000 gallons* One acre-foot of water is enough to meet the needs of two typical families for a year*Landscaping accounts for about half the water Californians use at home* Showers account for another 18%, while toilets use about 20%* About 66,000 acre-feet of water were voluntarily provided by State Water Project andCentral Valley Project contractors to assist migrating salmon this year*Central Valley residents uses up to 300 gallons of water a day, while some on the CentralCoast use as little as 50*California will be chronically short of water by 2010, unless steps are taken now toimprove our water supply system(Water Facts 2001)Basic Water Rights"The riparian doctrine guaranteed to the owner of land bordering a river the full flow of the river,Icssonly a reasonable amount taken by those upstream to satisfy domestic needs and to water livestock.Anowner's right was strictly usufructuary- that is, he had a right to use the water, but he did not ownthestream itself Most important, however, he had a right to the full flow, undiminished in eitherquantity orquality, and he was enjoined from impairing the similar right of other riparians Use was notnecessary tocreate his right, nor did nonuse terminate it Location alone was paramount, and the water rightsimplyresided in the ownership of the land." (Hundley, 1975)There are two basic types of water rights- riparian and appropriative In order tohave riparian rights, "your property must, in general, abut or be adjacent to a stream orone of its tributaries" (albietz.com) Those who have riparian rights are called riparianproprietors; they are those who own the land bounding upon a water course. Lands haveriparian status are determined by the following three criteria they must be contiguous tothe stream, the right extends only to the smallest tract held under one title in the chaintitle, and the land must be in the watershed of the stream (albietz) The riparian owner canonly use the amount of water he or she needs In other words, the riparian owner cannotwaste any water Riparian rights were adopted in California as part of the EnglishCommon Law in 1850 (California entered statehood). (Carpenter, et a12001) At that time,miner's were using appropriative water rights Water conflicts between users wereresolved by the riparian users only using the quantity of water that is reasonably need tomake beneficial use of the water Again, no wasting any of our precious waterThe second basic right to water is the appropriative right" An appropriative waterright is a right to use (appropriate) water, whether by direct diversion or storage."'(Carpenter, et aI2001). An appropriative right is the public use of water (municipal) ornon-overlying uses In groundwater appropriations, the "first in time, first in right"priority system applies. Appropriative users are allowed to use the surplus water after theoverlying user is satisfied with his or her water use The elements for appropriation are asfollows user must have intent to use water, diversion or control of the water, reasonableand beneficial use of the water- as described by the California Constitution, and priority ofappropriation. To get appropriated water, the user must get a permit by the State WaterResources Control Board Priority for the user is based on the date the permit was issuedAppropriated water can be sold or transferred Unlike riparian water rights, appropriativewater can be diverted Appropriative rights were given statutory recognition in 1872, 22years after California was granted statehood (albietz)There are several other types of water rights used to determine who gets whatwater A reserved right is water rights held by the US government created by withdrawalof public lands from entry The right to divert as much water as is necessary to serve thepurposes for which the land was withdrawn. This right supercedes all state laws/rights onwater (Carpenter) Overlying rights refer to groundwater rights All property ownersabove a common water spot possess a mutual right to the reasonable and beneficial use ofgroundwater resource on the land over the water spot (Groundwater Rights in California2000). Pueblo rights were a water right possessed by a municipality which is entitled tothe beneficial use of all needed, naturally occurring surface and groundwater of theoriginal pueblo watershed. Pueblo rights are discussed later. A final right to water iscalled prescriptive rights Prescriptive rights are gained by trespass or unauthorized takingthat can yield a title because it was allowed to continue longer than the five year stature oflimitations Prescriptive rights can only be obtained against private entities (GroundwaterRights) These four other water rights have been used to help solve and even start manyof California's water battlesWater Battles"It is hereby declared that because of the conditions prevailing in this state the general welfarerequiresthat the water recourses of the State be put to beneficial use to the fullest extent of which they arecapable,and that the waste or unreasonable use or unreasonable method of use of water